Battery chargers and jump starters are commonly used to “jump start” or “boost start” the internal combustion engines of vehicles and other equipment. Chargers and jump starters are connected to the vehicle's battery by electrical cables that provide a boost of electrical power to start the vehicle. Chargers and jump starters are often powered by AC line power or DC generators.
Battery chargers are designed to recharge drained batteries, but many chargers have a “boost” or “engine start” assist feature, which provides some additional electrical power to assist in starting a vehicle. Despite being able to assist in starting a vehicle, these types of battery chargers perform their task over a longer period of time, rather than an instantaneous boost. Using their “boost” mode, an AC battery charger may take five to twenty minutes to “boost” a dead battery depending on the depth-of-discharge (DOD), health of the vehicle battery, and type of engine (engine displacement).
Jump starters are devices specifically designed to jump start a dead vehicle using jumper cables in the place of an additional running vehicle. Jump starters are often standard equipment for tow trucks and road side assistance vehicles. Jump starters may take the form of a portable unit or be integrated into the vehicles equipment and electrical package. Jump starters are typically portable devices that are battery or AC powered. Often jump starters use large 200 plus amp capacitors to provide the surge or “boost” of electrical power needed to start the vehicle. Capacitor boosted jump starters are often used to start vehicles with large gasoline and diesel engines that have high inertial starting loads. While providing the additional starting “boost” of electrical power, capacitors must be recharged after every start attempt. Typically, the capacitors of jump starters are charged and recharged using AC line power or the DC power system of a host or other vehicle.
In addition, both battery chargers and jump starters are limited, heretofore by the length of the jumper cables. Even with large capacitors (200 plus amp), conventional jump starters have been ineffective at starting large engine vehicles with jumper cables longer than nine to ten feet. The resistance in the jumper cable at lengths greater than nine feet (9′) is too much for the jump starter's capacitors to overcome. Although the capacitors have a great amount of stored electrical energy, they have a relatively low amount of available electrical power. The electrical power from the jump starter is quickly dissipated through the resistance of the jumper cables' wire. Wire rated at 0.053 ohms/1000 ft, such as standard 3/0 electric power cables, is unable to carry the power discharged by the capacitor and deliver it in a usable state at a length over nine to ten feet. This short cable length is a significant disadvantage for applications, such as road side assistance. Even with portable jump starters, the location or position of the vehicle to be started requires a length of jumper cables that robs needed cranking power from the jump starter.